Water closet device



F. R. WILHELM WATER CLOSET DEVICE Oct. 24, 1967 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 FiledMarch 1'], 1965 Oct. 24, 1967 F. R. WILHELM WATER CLOSET DEVICE 2Sheets-Sheet 2 fl/// ///J Filed March 17, 1965 j fizz/672.2 57: Tran/kl?Zz/zZeZm United States Patent C 3,348,242 WATER CLOSET DEVICE FrankRalph Wilhelm, Mansfield, Ohio, assignor to Borg- Warner Corporation,Chicago, 111., a corporation of Illinois Filed Mar. 17, 1965, Ser. No.440,396 5 Claims. (Cl. 441) ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE A water closetand flushing mechanism are disclosed herein. The Water closet is thetype having a low water tank with respect to the bowl which inherentlyprovides a low static water pressure for flushing purposes which is theenvironment to which the invention is most appropriately applied. Aflushing mechanism is provided in the tank which coordinates theutilization of the water stored in the tank with fresh water from thesupply to provide both rim and bottom flushing of the water closet bowl.

The typical tank flushing devices presently in existence generallyinclude a discharge valve in the bottom of the tank which is controlledby a ball valve engaged in a seat in a discharge valve in the bottom ofthe tank. The ball valve is actuated fro-m outside the tank when alinkage is manipulated. The water is then discharged into the bowl fromthe static water head in the tank and in appropriate velocity and volumeto provide the normally utilized kinetic and siphonic action necessaryfor flushing the bowl.

Normally to flush a water closet, the ball valve is lifted verticallyfrom its seat in the valve body and the water in the tank is dischargedthrough the valve body into the bowl. When the water level in the tankarrives at a predetermined low level, the buoyant force of the ball isthereby lessened and is further overcome by the kinetic energy exertedby the water discharging through the ball valve, and the ball is pulledinto its seated position in the discharge valve to seal the valve. Whenthe ball valve is closed under these circumstances, there is aconsiderable amount of water remaining in the tank. The remaining wateris a small percentage of the total amount of water present in the largeupright water closet tanks most commonly used and thereby, has nosignificant adverse eifect on the flushing operation of flushing devicesutilizing the large upright water closet tank.

However, the current trend in water closet designs is to provide lowone-piece and more streamlined types of water closets. The lowstreamline one-piece trend in water closet designs drastically reducesthe maximum available static head of water available, and which isnecessary to provide the requisite volume and velocity to produce therequired siphonic and dynamic action employed to properly fiush theknown types of water closets. Also, the known systems and devices do notprovide the adjustments and reliability required without undulycomplicating and raising the cost of the apparatus use.

It is therefore highly desirable to provide an improved tank flushingdevice for the tank and bowl of a water closet that could be utilized incombination with the one-piece low or other low streamlined waterclosets of the present trend that would provide a reasonably simple,inexpensive and highly reliable flushing device which could be easilyadjusted and which would provide sufiicient Water volume and velocityfor facilitating adequate flushing of the water closets regardless ofthe lower configuration thereof.

It is therefore an object of this invention to provide an improved watercloset flushing device for water closets ice having a low static waterhead capacity and which would be relatively simple, uncomplicated andeconomical.

It is another object of this invention to provide an improved watercloset flushing device for water closets having a low water headcapacity and which is readily adjustable and highly reliable in itsoperation.

It is a primary object of this invention to provide an improved watercloset flushing device for providing sufficient water during theflushing operation thereof to provide a flushing action in a watercloset having a low static water head, which is comparable to thatnormally provided by a water closet having an elevated or high staticwater head available for flushing.

With this and other objects in view, the present invention provides atank flushing device for the tank and bowl of a water closet wherein awater closet tank is provided with an inlet and outlet valve, a diverterand diversion conduit, a diverter actuating means and a float connectedto the inlet valve and the diverter actuator, and a ball valve in theexhaust valve which is also con nected to the diverter actuator wherebythe float controls the inlet valve and the diverter actuator, so thatsaid diverter is actuated during the discharge of water through anexhaust valve to divert water into the diversion conduit leading to rimflush of the bowl, and whereby said diverter actuator controlled by thefloat, releases the ball valve seating in said discharge valve at thelowest possible W.L. in the tank and acts to deactuate the diverter toallow the water to be diverted into the tank to refill the tank.

Other objects, advantages and novel aspects of the invention will becomeapparent upon consideration of the following detailed description inconjunction with the accompanying drawings wherein:

FIG. 1 is a partial top plan view of a water tank and bowl whichincludes the structures of the improved tank flushing device of thisinvention and which shows the relative horizontal position of thevarious elements thereof.

FIG. 2 is a partial sectional view taken along line 2-2 of FIG. 1showing the discharge valve in the open position, and the diverter inthe actuated position.

FIG. 3 is a partial sectional view taken along line 3-3 of FIG. 1showing the limits of the pivotal movement of the diverter actuatormechanism.

FIG. 4 is a partial sectional view taken along line 4 -4 of FIG. 1showing the inlet valve and float assemblies.

The figures illustrate an embodiment of this invention with respect to aone-piece water closet of the low silhouette type that provides theenvironment of problems that accompany a water closet having a lowstatic water head which is engaged by this invention. The embodiment ofthe invention herein illustrated includes several assemblies andstructures; namely, a tank portion 10, a bowl portion 11, an inlet valveassembly 12, a diverter valve assembly 13, a diverter actuator assembly14, a diverter actuator retainer assembly 15, a discharge valve assembly16, a fioat assembly 17, a flexible float link 18, and a flexible ballvalve link 19.

The tank portion 10 is provided with an exhaust aperture 25 (FIG. 2) andan inlet aperture 26 (FIG. 4) in the base thereof. The exhaust aperture25 opens into a conduit 27 (FIGS. 1 and 2) leading to the bowl 11 in themanner normally exercised in the art for interconnecting the tank of aone-piece water closet with the bowl thereof to allow water to flow fromthe tank into the bowl for flushing the bowl. The tank 10 is alsoprovided with a diversion reservoir 28 (FIGS. 1 and 3), having a rimflush diversion reservoir conduit 29 leading from an elevated positionin the tank to the upper inner rim portion of the bowl 11 to provide aswirling washing action within the bowl 11 when water is passed throughthe reservoir conduit 29 into the bowl 11 during the bowl flushingcycle, while the tank empties.

The inlet valve 12 is provided with a discharge conduit 31 connected toa typical Water supply 32 (FIG. 4) and is provided with an actuatingplunger 33 which is adapted to move vertically in the inlet valve 12 andis biased by the water pressure in a normally up position (FIG. 4). Whenthe plunger 33 is in its uppermost position (FIGS. 1 and 4), the inletvalve 12 is open and the plunger 33 closes the inlet valve 12 graduallyas the plunger travels into its lowest position controlled by theraising float 46.

The inlet valve plunger 33 is provided with an aperture 34 (FIG. 4) inwhich a rounded end 35 of a valve actuating link 36 is positioned. Thelink 36 is pivotally connected to a yoke 37 by a pin 38, and the yoke 37is rigidly secured to the inlet valve 12. The left or remaining end 39of the link 36 is pivotally connected to a pair of short links 40 by apin 41, and the short links 40 are in turn pivotally connected to afloat sub-arm 42 of the float assembly 17 by a pin 43. The float sub-arm42 is provided with an axial threaded aperture 44 in the outer or leftend thereof (FIG. 4), and is threadably adapted to receive a float rodarm 45 which is rigidly secured to a float 46. The float sub-arm 42 ispivotally connected to a yoke 47 by a pin 48 extending through the yoke47.

The inlet valve 12 is supported within the tank 10 on a threaded lowerportion 49 to which a positioning nut 50 is threaded. The inlet valve 12is positioned vertically in the tank inlet aperture 26 with the nut 50on a sealing gasket 51, and is held in this position by a securing nut52 threaded on 49 of the valve 12 and drawn tight against the tank 10 onthe outside thereof.

The raising of the Water level in the tank 10 to a high level 53 (FIG.2) will cause the float 46 to float on the water and move upwardly untilthe level 53 is reached to pivot the float sub-arm 42 clockwise (FIG. 4)about the pin 48 causing the links 40 to move upwardly. The upwardmovement of the links 40 in turn will pivot the inlet valve link 36clockwise about the pin 38 and thereby move the plunger 33 downwardlyfrom its open position. Thus, the raising of the float 46 with theraising of the water level will cause the plunger 33 to move to a lowerposition tending to close the inlet valve 12. Conversely, the loweringof the float 46 with the lowering of the water level will cause theplunger 33 to move to a higher or up position tending to open the inletvalve 12.

The diverter valve assembly 13 includes generally a diverter valve body(FIGS. 13) having an inlet conduit 61, a reservoir outlet 62, and adiverter valve shaft 63 (FIG. 1) rotatably mounted in the body 6%).Also, the diverter valve assembly 13 includes a husher discharge tube 64extending downwardly into the tank 10 and a .diverter reservoir outlet29. The diverter inlet 61 is connected to the inlet valve discharge 31and is thereby adapted to receive water from the inlet valve 12, and todivert the water either into the diverter reservoir outlet 62 when thediverter 13 is actuated, or into the husher tube 64 to discharge waterinto the tank 10 when the diverter 13 is not actuated. The divertervalve shaft 63 .actuates the diverter 13 to divert water into thereservoir outlet 62 thereof when the shaft 63 is rotated clockwise (FIG.3) and conversely, deactuates the diverter valve 13 to divert water intothe husher tube 64 when the shaft 63 is rotated counterclockwise.

The diverter valve shaft 63 is connected to a diverter lever 68 of thediverter actuator assembly 14 by a screw 69 and is thereby adapted topivot with the shaft 63. The diverter lever 68 is provided with a pin 70(FIGS. 1 and 3) extending therefrom substantially parallel with theshaft 63. A flush lever 71 is part of the diverter actuator assembly 14and is pivotally positioned in the front of the tank 10 and extendstherethrough into and is secured to a flush rod link 72 (FIGS. 1 and 3)within the tank 10, The link 72 is rigidly secured to the flush lever 71and is adapted to be pivoted upwardly (FIG. 3) when the flush lever 71is pivoted about the axis thereof.

The link 72 is provided with a groove 73 which is adapted to engage thepin 70 to pivot the diverter lever clockwise (FIG. 3) from the dashedline position to the position shown when the connecting link 72 ispivoted upwardly. The motion of the diverter lever 68 is lim ited in theclockwise and counterclockwise directions (FIG. 3) by the upper andlower stops 74 and 75 respectively which form a rigid part of thediverter body and are positioned thereon in the path of a projection 76on the lever 68.

The diverter actuator retainer assembly 15 includes generally a bracket80 and a detent 81 (FIGS. 1 and 2). The bracket 80 is rigidly secured tothe diverter body 60 and is provided with a yoke portion 82 having armsextending to the left and down. The detent 81 is pivotally connected tothe bracket 86 within the yoke 82 by a pin 83 extending through the yoke82 and the detent 81. The detent 81 is provided with a weighted portion84, a cam surface 85, a detent surface 86, and a downwardly projectingportion 87. It should be noted that the right end (FIG. 3) of thediverter lever 68 is a cam actuator 88 that is positioned and adapted toengage the cam surface 85 of the detent 81 when the diverter lever 68 ispivoted clockwise.

Further, it is important to note that when the diverter cam actuator 88is pivoted beyond the cam surface 85, the detent 81 will rotatecounterclockwise (FIG. 2) from the dash line position to the positionshown in response to the weighted portion 84 thereof. The cam actuator88 of the diverter lever 68 is thereby prevented from returning upwardlyby the detent 81 once it has been moved beyond the cam surface 85. Thediverter lever 68 thereby can not return to its counterclockwiseposition which it tends to assume by its weighted end at pin 70 (FIG.3), and the diverter 13 will remain actuated until the detent 81 ispivoted clockwise (FIG. 2) to the dash position out of the upward pathof the cam actuator 88 of the diverter lever 68.

The discharge valve assembly 16 includes generally a ball valve 91 and adischarge valve seat 92. The ball valve 91 is a buoyant member and ispivotally connected to pins 93 extending radially from a verticaloverflow tube 94. The overflow tube 94 is rigidly secured to thedischarge valve seat 92 and is open at the top to receive any overflowwithin the tank, and discharges same through the discharge valve 16. Thevalve seat 92 is provided with a conduit 95 opening into the bowl andtank conduit 27. The discharge valve seat 92 is provided with a taperedgasket 96 which is adapted to be positioned in the discharge aperture 25of the tank 10 and is held in this position by any securing structure 97of the types generally used in the art.

The discharge valve 16 is thereby adapted to discharge water from thetank 10 into the bowl through tank conduit 27, when the buoyant ballvalve 91 is pivoted counterclockwise about the pins 93 (FIG. 2) to anupper position. When the discharge valve 16 is thus opened, the buoyanteffect of ball valve 91 will retain the ball valve 91 in the open or upposition and water will be discharged by gravity from the tank 10through the discharge valve seat conduit 95 into the bowl 11 through thetank and bowl conduit 27, so that the bowl 11 will thereby receive waterfrom the tank 10 for providing a flushing action within the bowl 11.

The flexible ball link 19 which interconnects the ball valve 91 anddiverter lever 68 is secured at the lower end thereof to a bracket 100on the ball valve 91 (FIG.

2) and at the upper end thereof to the left end of the diverter lever 68(FIG. 3). The ball link 19 is thereby adapted to raise the ball valve 91from the seated position in the discharge valve seat 92 when thediverter lever 68 is pivoted clockwise (FIG. 3), in response to theraising of the rod arm 72 when the flush lever 71 is pivoted downwardly(FIG. 1).

The flexible float link 18 which interconnects the float 46 and detent81 is secured at one end thereof to the detent projection 87, threadedthrough a suspension eyelet 101 that is rigidly secured to the overflowtube 94, and is secured at the other end thereof to an adjustmentbushing 102. The bushing 102 is adjustably retained on the float rod bya set screw 103. The flexible float link 18 is thereby adapted to bepulled taut when the float 46 is lowered in response to the lowering ofthe Water level in the tank 10. The detent 81 will thereby be caused topivot clockwise about the pin 83 and remove the detent surface 86 fromthe upward path of the cam actuator 88 of the diverter lever 68. Thediverter lever 68 will then be allowed to pivot counterclockwise (FIG.3) under the influence of gravity in the absence of the rod member 72when the flush lever 71 is returned. This will in turn allow thediverter valve shaft 63 to return to the deactuated position, wherebythe diverter 13 will direct Water received from the inlet valve 12 intothe tank through the husher tube 64. Simultaneously, the flexible link19 which interconnects the ball 91 and the diverter lever 68 will permitball 91 to move, by the effect of gravity, onto the discharge valve seat92.

Operation The operation of the flush tank device of this invention asexemplified above is generally initiated with the device in a normalnon-flushing condition wherein the structures thereof are in therespective positions as immediately hereinafter set forth. Inparticular, the flush lever 71 is in the horizontal position (FIG. 1)and the flush rod 72 is in the dashed position (FIG. 3). The diverterlever 68 is also in the dashed position (FIG. 3) and the detent 81 is inthe counterclockwise position (FIG. 2). The ball 91 of the dischargevalve is in the discharge valve seat 92 to retain the water within thetank 10 and the ball cable 19 is slack. The water level 53 under theseconditions is at its highest point as indicated (FIG. 2), and as aconsequence, the float 46 is in its upper position on the surface of thewater. With the float 46 in this position, the float link 18 is slackand the inlet valve 12 closed.

The initial manual flush actuating action of the device is provided by adownward pivotal movement of the flush lever 71 (FIG. '1) which raisesthe flush rod 72 upwardly with the groove 73 against the pin 70 of thediverter lever 68. The diverter lever 68 is thereby manually moved tothe clockwise or up position (FIG. 3). The diverter valve shaft 63 isthereby actuated to the clockwise position thereof (FIG. 3) whereby thediverter 13 will act to divert water from the inlet valve 12 into thediverter reservoir exhaust conduit 62, into the reservoir conduit 29 andthereby transmitted to the tim flush of the bowl 11 to aid the flushingaction thereof.

When the diverter lever 68 is rotated clockwise by the flush rod 72 tothe position shown (FIG. 3), the right cam actuator end 88 thereofpasses along the cam surface 85 of the detent 81, thereby moving thedetent 81 clockwise to allow the cam actuator 88 of the lever 68 to passinto the area of the detent surface groove 86 whereby the weight 84 ofthe detent 81 will rotate the detent 81 counterclockwise into the pathof the cam actuator 88 to prevent counterclockwise movement of the lever68. The diverter lever 68 will thereby maintain the diverter 13 in theactuated condition to divert water through the reservoir 28 into thebowl 11 until the detent 81 is eventually pivoted clockwise (FIG. 2) outof the upward path of the cam actuator 88.

When the diverter lever 68 is thus moved to and retained in the diverteractuating position (FIGS. 2 and 3), the ball link 19 will be pulledupwardly by the left end of the lever 68 to raise the ball 91 from thedischarge valve seat 92 to open the discharge valve 16.

An initial automatic flow action will result from the above-describedinitial manual flush actuating action of the device. In particular, theinitial manual flush actuating action opens the discharge valve 16 toallow the water in tthe tank to flow therethrough into the bowl 11through the conduit 27 to perform the flushing action of the bowl 11.With the discharge of the water in the tank 10, the float 46 will belowered in accordance with the water level in the tank 10, and as aconsequence, the inlet valve 12 will be automatically open by thedownward movement of the float 46 as previously described.

The water admitted by the inlet valve 12 will pass to the diverter 13through the inlet discharge 31, and the diverter inlet 61, and thediverter 13 which is retained in its actuated position will divert thewater into the rim flush of the bowl 11 through the diversion reservoir28 and the diversion conduit structures 29 and 62. Water passing throughthe diversion conduit 29 will thereby be admitted to the bowl 11simultaneously with the water passing to the bowl 11 through thedischarge valve 16 to simultaneously provide the flushing action of thebowl 11.

Thus, it can be seen that although the initial water available in thetank It) represents the major quantity, the flushing action is augmentedby the water simultaneously passing through the reservoir conduit 29 torim flush of the bowl 11.

During the flushing action, the buoyant ball 91 will tend to float andwill thus be retained in an up position (FIG. 2) removed from the valveseat 92 to retain the discharge valve 16 open. After the water level inthe tank drops to such an extent that the buoyant ball 91 would bepulled by the dynamic force of the water and the effect of gravity ontothe discharge valve seat 92 and close the discharge valve, it isprevented from doing this by the flexible link 19, which is attached tothe left end of the diverter lever 68. Thus, it allows all the waterfrom the tank to be discharged through the discharge valve 16, throughthe conduit 27 into the bowl 11, utilizing the full amount of watercontained in the tank before flushing was initiated.

When the water in the tank 18 reaches a predetermined low level, theflexible float link 18 will be drawn taut by the lowering of the float46 with the water level, and the float link 18 will urge the detent 81clockwise (FIG. 2) about the pin 83. This movement of the detent 81 willremove the detent surface 86 from the path of the cam actuator 88 of thediverter lever 68. The diverter lever 68 and the shaft 63 attachedthereto are thereby free to be pivoted counterclockwise to deactuate thediverter 13. This counterclockwise pivotal movement will be actuated bythe weight around pin 70 of the diverter lever 68, which exerts amomentum about the diverter shaft 63- in a counterclockwise direction,thus overcoming the friction within the diverter valve.

Since the detent 81 is connected by the flexible float link 18 to theadjustment bushing 102 on the float rod arm 45, this bushing is adjustedso that the detent 81 releases the diverter lever 68 at the instant whenall the water in the tank 10 was discharged. As the diverter lever 68moves counterclockwise to the dashline position (FIG. 3), a final actiontakes place within the invention; the ball 91 moves onto the dischargevalve seat 92, closing the valve, simultaneously the diverter 13 assumesits initial deactuated position. The diverter 13 in this position is inthe deactuated position, and the water received thereby from the inletvalve 12 will be diverted into the tank 18 through the husher tube 64 torefill the tank 10 to its high level 53.

When the water level in the tank reaches the high level 53, the float ofthe float assembly 17 will be floated upward to its highest point (FIG.4) whereby the inlet valve 12 will be closed by the action of thelinkages 42, 40, 39, and the plunger 33 as previously described. Thusthe invention will be automatically returned to its normal conditionready for flushing with the inlet valve 12 closed, the water level inthe tank at its highest 53, the discharge valve 16 closed, and thediverter 13 deactuated with the diverter lever 63 in itscounterclockwise deac- Summary This invention is actuated by an initialmanual operation wherein the diverter 13 is actuated and isautomatically retained in the actuated condition to divert water intothe rim flush of the bowl 11 through a reservoir conduit 29 to provide aflushing action in the bowl 11, and to open the tank discharge valve 16to allow water to flow from the tank 18 into the bowl to perform theflushing action. During the flushing action thus created, the waterlevel in the tank 11 decreases and eventually lowers the float 46 to apoint whereupon the diverter 13 is released from its actuated conditionor position by the float link 18, and the ball 91 of the discharge valve16 is seated to close the discharge valve 16. The ball 91 is linked withthe diverter 13 by the ball link 19 so that when the diverter isdeactuated by the float 46 to divert water into the tank 16 instead ofinto the bowl 11 to refill the tank 10, the discharge valve 16 is thusclosed. When the water in the tank reaches the predetermined high orfull level 53, the float assembly 17 will close the inlet valve 12 inpreparation for a new flushing action.

This invention thereby provides supplemental water for augmenting theflushing action, which otherwise would remain within a flush tank. Thetwo sources of water provided for the combination flushing action areco-ordinated time wise to the greatest possible extent by the structuresof this invention to be automatically operated and terminated inadjustable, predetermined portions in response to the ordinary simplemanual movement of a flush lever positioned externally to the tank.

It is to be understood that the invention is not to be limited to thespecific constructions and arrangements shown and described, except onlyinsofar as the claims may be so limited, as it will be understood tothose skilled in the art that changes may be made without departing fromthe principles of the invention.

What is claimed is:

1. An improved flush tank device for the tank and bowl of a water closetcomprising a tank, a bowl, a diversion conduit connecting said tank Withsaid bowl, a discharge conduit connecting said tank with said bowl, awater supply, a diverter valve adapted to normally discharge water intosaid tank and actuatable to discharge water through said diversionconduit into said bowl, a normally open water inlet valveinterconnecting said supply with said diverter and actuatable to closeto prevent water from passing therethrough into said diverter, means foractuating said diverter valve, means for automatically and releasablyretaining said diverter actuator means in the actuating condition, anorm-ally closed discharge valve positioned in said discharge conduitfor closing said conduit and actuatable to the open condition andadapted to open into said tank, means for interconnecting said diverteractuating means with said discharge valve to open said valve when saiddiverter actuating means is actuated to allow water contained in saidtank to flow through the exhaust conduit into the bowl, a float elementconnected to said inlet valve and adapted to actuate said inlet valvewhen the level of the water in said tank reaches a predetermined highlevel, and means for interconnecting said float element and saiddiverter actuator retaining means for releasing said retaining meanswhen said float element reaches a predetermined low level.

2. An improved flush tank device for the tank and bowl of a water closetcomprising a tank, a bowl, a diversion conduit connecting said tank withsaid bowl, a discharge conduit connecting said tank with said bowl, awater supply, a diverter valve adapted to normally discharge water intosaid tank and actuatable to discharge water through said diversionconduit into said bowl, a normally open water inlet valveinterconnecting said supply with said diverter and actuatable to closeto prevent water from passing therethrough into said diverter, adiverter actuator lever means pivotally mounted on said diverter, saidlever having a pawl member extending substantially radially therefrom, aratchet biased to automatically and releasably retain said diverteractuator pawl to retain said actuator in the actuating condition, adischarge valve positioned in said discharge conduit and opening intosaid tank, said discharge valve being normally closed under the effectsof gravity in the absence of a predetermined minimum water level withrespect thereto and held closed when the water is above saidpredetermined level unless actuated whereupon said valve is buoyantlyadapted to remain open until the level of the water in which it issubmerged is lowered to said predetermined minimum, meansinterconnecting said diverter actuating means with said discharge valveto open said valve and retain said valve open when said diverteractuating means is actuated to allow water contained in said tank toflow through the exhaust conduit into the bowl, a float elementconnected to said inlet valve and adapted to actuate said inlet valvewhen the level of the water in said tank reaches a predetermined highlevel, and means for interconnecting said float element and saiddiverter actuator retaining means for releasing said retaining meanswhen said float element reaches a predetermined low level.

3. An improved flush tank device for the tank and bowl of a water closetcomprising a tank, a bowl, a diversion conduit connecting said tank withsaid bowl, a discharge conduit connecting said tank with said bowl, awater supply, a diverter valve adapted to normally discharge water intosaid tank and actuatable to discharge water through said diversionconduit into said bowl, a normally open water inlet valveinterconnecting said supply with said diverter and actuatable to closeto prevent water from passing therethrough into said diverter, means foractuating said diverter valve, means for automatically and releasablyretaining said diverter actuator means in the actuating condition, adischarge valve positioned in said discharge conduit and opening intosaid tank, said discharge valve being normally closed under the eifectsof gravity in the absence of a predetermined minimum water level withrespect thereto and held closed when the water is above saidpredetermined level unless actuated whereupon said valve is buoyantlyadapted to remain open until the level of the water in which it issubmerged is lowered to said predetermined minimum, meansinterconnecting said diverter actuating means with said discharge valveto open said valve and retain said valve open when said diverteractuating means is actuated to allow water contained in said tank toflow through the exhaust conduit into the bowl, a float elementconnected to said inlet valve and adapted to actuate said inlet valvewhen the level of the water in said tank reaches a predetermined highlevel, and means for interconnecting said float element and saiddiverter actuator retaining means for releasing said retaining meanswhen said float element reaches a predetermined low level.

4. An improved flush tank device for the tank and bowl of a water closetcomprising a tank, a bowl, a diversion conduit connecting said tank withsaid bowl, a discharge conduit connecting said tank with said bowl, awater supply, a diverter valve adapted to normally discharge water intosaid tank and actuatable to discharge water through said diversionconduit into said bowl, a normally open water inlet valveinterconnecting said supply with said diverter and actuatable to closeto prevent water from passing therethrough into said diverter, means foractuating said diverter valve, means for automatic-ally and releasablyretaining said diverter actuator means in the actuating condition, adischarge valve positioned in said discharge conduit and opening intosaid tank, said discharge valve being normally closed under the eflectsof gravity in the absence of a predetermined minimum water level withrespect thereto and held closed when the water is above saidpredetermined level unless actuated whereupon said valve is buoyantlyadapted to remain open until the level of the water in which it issubmerged is lowered to said predetermined minimum, a flexible dischargevalve cable means interconnecting said diverter actuating means and saiddischarge valve, said flexible means being adapted to actuate saiddischarge valve and retain said valve open when said diverter actuatingmeans is actuated to allow water contained in said tank to flow throughthe exhaust conduit into the bowl, a float element connected to saidinlet valve and adapted to actuate said inlet valve when the level ofthe water in said tank reaches a predetermined high level, and means forinterconnecting said float element and said diverter actuator retainingmeans for releasing said retaining means when said float element reachesa predetermined low level.

5. An improved flush tank device for the tank and bowl of a water closetcomprising a tank, a bowl, a diversion conduit connecting said tank withsaid bowl, a discharge conduit connecting said tank with said bowl, awater supply, a diverter valve adapted to normally discharge water intosaid tank and iactuat'able to discharge water through said diversionconduit into said bowl, a normally open water inlet valveinterconnecting said supply with said diverter and actuatable to closeto prevent water from passing therethrough into said diverter, means foractuating said diverter valve, means for automatically and releasablyretaining said diverter actuator means in the actuating condition, adischarge valve positioned in said discharge conduit and opening intosaid tank, said discharge valve being normally closed under the effectsof gravity in the absence of a predetermined minimum water level withrespect thereto and held closed when the water is above saidpredetermined level unless actuated whereupon said valve is buoyantlyadapted to remain open until the level of the water in which it issubmerged is lowered to said predetermined minimum, meansinterconnecting said diverter actuating means with said discharge valveto open said valve and retain said valve open when said diverteractuating means is actuated to allow water contained in said tank toflow through the exhaust conduit into the bowl, a float elementconnected to said inlet valve and adapted to actuate said inlet valvewhen the level of the water in said tank reaches a predetermined highlevel, and a flexible float cable means interconnecting said floatelement and said diverter actuator retaining means, said float cablebeing adapted for releasing said retaining means when said float elementreaches a predetermined low depth to allow said diverter actuator toreturn to the unactuated condition to deactuate the diverter.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,670,324 5/1928 Teahen et al.469 1,670,326 5/1928 Teahen 4-69 1,794,640 3/1931 Owens 441 1,971,8808/1934 Taylor 4-13 2,773,267 12/1956 Kohlmeyer 414 3,172,128 3/1965Ducey 4-41 LAVERNE D. GEIGER, Primary Examiner.

H. K. ARTIS, Assistant Examiner.

1. AN IMPROVED FLUSH TANK DEVICE FOR THE TANK AND BOWL OF A WATER CLOSETCOMPRISING A TANK, A BOWL, A DIVERSION CONDUIT CONNECTING SAID TANK WITHSAID BOWL, A DISCHARGE CONDUIT CONNECTING SAID TANK WITH SAID BOWL, AWATER SUPPLY, A DIVERTER VALVE ADAPTED TO NORMALLY DISCHARGE WATER INTOSAID TANK AND ACTUATABLE TO DISCHARGE WATER THROUGH SAID DIVERSIONCONDUIT INTO SAID BOWL, A NORMALLY OPEN WATER INLEWT VALVEINTERCONNECTING SAID SUPPLY WITH SAID DIVERTER ND ACTUATABLE TO CLOSE TOPREVENT WATER FROM PASSING THERETHROUGH INTO SAID DIVERTER, MEANS FORACTUATING SAID DIVERTER VALVE, MEANS FOR AUTOMATICALLY AND RELEASABLYRETAINING SAID DIVERTER ACTUATOR MEANS IN THE ACTUATING CONDITION, ANORMALLY CLOSED DISCHARGE VALVE POSITIONED IN SAID DISCHARGE CONDUIT FORCLOSING AND CONDUIT AND ACTUATABLE TO THE OPEN CONDITION AND ADAPTED TOOPEN INTO SAID TANK, MEANS FOR INTERCONNECTING SAID DIVERTER ACTUATINGMEANS WITH SAID DISCHARGE MEANS TO OPEN SAID VALVE WHEN SAID DIVERTERACTUATING MENS IS ACTUATED TO ALLOW WATER CONTAINED IN SAID TANK TO FLOWTHROUGH THE EXHAUST CONDUIT INTO THE BOWL, A FLOAT ELEMENT CONNECTED TOSAID INLET VALVE AND ADAPTED TO ACTUATE SAID INLET VALVE WHEN THE LEVELOF THE WATER IN SAID TANK REACHES A PREDETERMINED HIGH LEVEL, AND MEANSFOR INTERCONNECTING SAID FLOAT ELEMENT AND SAID DIVERTR ACTUATORRETAINING MEANS FOR RELEASING SAID RETAINING MEANS WHEN SAID FLOATELEMENT REACHES A PREDETERMINED LOW LEVEL.